


Five Ways She Said Yes

by backtothestart02



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, alternative responses, eddie thawne ref, proposal, some suggestive material
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 13:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10164368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtothestart02/pseuds/backtothestart02
Summary: Five different ways Iris could have responded to Barry's 3x14 proposal.





	1. She Said Yes - Iris's POV

**Author's Note:**

> These five response chaps were written both from my own mind and from the suggestion box I left open to people to contribute to during the past week. Many thanks to all of you. You made this story so much more colorful and meaningful and hopefully you are able to enjoy this fic even more because of your contributions. :)
> 
> *My biggest thanks though ofc goes to sendtherain, the loveliest beta of them all. Thank you for beta'ing all of these on such short notice. You are the bestest!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She says yes. Iris's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the initial first response I had envisioned. There's romance, there are tears (I nearly cried writing it), and I almost cave to smut, but I stop just short of it . This may very well be my favorite one. :)
> 
> Incorporated in this chapter are the following requested detail(s):
> 
> Anon: I'd love to see the scene from both Iris and Barry's perspective where she says yes. (The next chapter in this fic will be this exact same response from Barry's POV)

While staring down at the man she loved more than life itself, still trying to process the words that had tumbled out of his mouth and the ring he held in his hand, still holding her breath and reminding herself to breathe, it dawned on Iris that she hadn’t responded yet.

She blinked and became aware of her surroundings again. The massive amount of candles and rose petals, the roses in her hand, the smell of Grandma Esther’s noodles wafting over to her…

She nodded slowly and smiled, eyes shining.

“Yes.”

The grin that had been ever present during his proposal spread further across Barry’s face. For a moment in time, neither said a word. They stared at each other with tears in their eyes and beamed. Then the moment passed, and Barry directed his gaze to her left hand, which was still clutching the roses he’d given her.

“May I?” he asked timidly.

She nodded again, gulped, and smiled. Tears threatened to fall as she let him take the roses from her. His fingers brushed against hers in an exquisitely intimate way that sparked a zap of electricity from his finger to hers. It electrified her senses in a way nothing else could have, even as she watched him set the bouquet on the floor amidst all the rose petals.

Iris couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She couldn’t move, could only hear her heart hammering away in her chest and the shallow breaths escaping her lips. She felt Barry take her hand again, this time with no shock, and slide his mother’s engagement ring onto her slim finger.

For as old as it was, the ring was dazzling. For just a second she recalled the ring Eddie almost gave her and how it didn’t compare. Then the vision of past proposals faded away.

The ring Barry adorned her with was so beautiful, and it meant so much to him and now to her. She was nearly lightheaded with the fact that he had given her such a keepsake. Barry had loved her since they were kids. He’d told her that what felt like a lifetime ago, but the truth of how deeply her sweet, smart, selfless, heroic Barry Allen loved her never ceased to take her breath away.

She laughed aloud at the thought that came next.

Barry looked up at her, eyes glittering.

“What?”

She could hardly contain her giggles.

“I just got engaged to the Flash.”

Barry grinned and stood to his feet, the glint in his eyes all Flash.

“Every woman in Central City is going to be insanely jealous of me.” She draped her arms around his neck as she spoke. “Or they would be, if they knew.”

Barry wrapped his arms around her back.

“Think you’ll mind not being just a West anymore?” he asked.

She softened and her bubbling laughter ceased.

“Iris West-Allen,” she whispered reverently.

For all the softness in her voice, inside she was bursting with excitement. She wanted to scream and jump up and down and run outside and sing, even though she was absolutely terrified of singing out loud for anyone to hear. She wanted to announce it on live television so that the whole world would know that Barry Allen was her man and this ring made it officially official.

“Going to hyphenate, huh?” he asked, drawing her out of her racing thoughts.

She grinned back at him.

“That is one future detail I don’t mind keeping,” she said, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and finally succumbing to the urge that had threatened to swamp her self-control from the moment he slid the sparkling ring onto her finger.

She kissed him.

It was a heavy, passionate kiss. A possessive kiss. A hands-running-through-his-hair kiss. His hands were snug around her waist, pulling her closer so they were as joined as they could be with their clothes still in the way.

It was an overjoyed kiss. A kiss with tears running down their cheeks and gasping breaths when they finally broke apart.

“You’re never going to outdo this one, Barry,” she panted, her limbs trembling as the energy required to stay standing was zapped out of her.

Barry brushed his nose against hers, smiling.

“Wait till you hear my wedding vows,” he murmured.

Iris pulled back and stared up into his eyes, her shock clear on her face by the way her eyes widened and jaw dropped.

_He’s already written his vows?_

She could hardly believe it.

Barry neither confirmed nor denied the clear question in her eyes, but when his head dipped down to kiss her again, the need to know dissolved, and Iris lost herself in him again.

“I love you so much,” she said between kisses. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

“Iris,” he breathed heavily, his hands coming up to cradle her face, his kisses getting more demanding and accelerating further when she responded just as fiercely as he did. When her leg started to wrap around his, he pulled away again.

“Why are you stopping?” she whimpered, breathing as hard as she had the first time they parted.

“I…uh…” Barry licked his lips and cleared his throat. “Don’t you want to eat first?”

Iris blinked and tried to register what he was saying.

“Your Grandma Esther’s noodles just aren’t as good warmed up. I believe you’ve told me that in the past.”

 _Had she told him that?_ She couldn’t remember.

She cleared her throat.

“Barry…” she began, doing her best to seduce him with her voice. He gently swayed against her, so she knew it was working.

Her hands slid beneath the collar of his jacket. She warmed when her hands pressed to the hot skin on the back of his neck and she felt him shiver. She saw it happen and without permission her body proceeded to do the same; a delicious trembling rippled over her like a wave, pulling her like a magnet to him, so that there was hardly any space between them.

“Iris,” he rasped, but the word was lost in the gentle whoosh of her pushing his jacket off his shoulders to the floor.

“All I want right now,” she told him, placing one finger against his parted lips and then waiting till his eyes met hers, “is _you_.”

Barely a breath between them, Barry took her mouth again, lifted her off her feet and carried her over to the couch. Surrounded by candles and rose petals, her legs wrapped tightly around her love before he parted from her briefly to undress himself and then slowly her, Iris knew that whatever happened, he was hers; and she, forever, was his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chap is the two-part of this one, the exact same response except from Barry's POV.


	2. She Said Yes - Barry's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She says yes. Barry's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incorporated in this chapter are the following requested detail(s):
> 
> Anon: I'd love to see the scene from both Iris and Barry's perspective where she says yes.

For all his confidence and certainty, Barry Allen had never been so nervous as when he looked up at Iris West and waited for her response. He’d put it all out there just now, not declaring how much he loved her and why, as he did on a daily basis, but showing her that what she meant to him. What he wanted for them was as sacred as what his ancestor had felt all those years ago when he trudged across the countries to be with the love he knew he was destined for.

“Yes,” Iris said, eyes shining down at him as she smiled and nodded.

And just like that, Barry could breathe again.

He knew his smile was out of control. It was so wide that his cheeks hurt, but he didn’t care.

 _“…until the day she says I do”_ flitted through his mind, a proud captain from another timeline happy for his CSI to have gotten a date with a pretty girl.

Then he’d brushed it off even to himself, saying it’d be a while till that happened. Though if he’d known then that he’d propose to his Iris just after Valentine’s Day and that she would say yes, he would’ve been so overwhelmed with happiness that he might have been tempted to propose on their first date.

Staring deep into each other’s eyes, Barry almost forgot he still had a ring to put on her finger. His eyes finally shifted down to her left hand, which was still clutching the roses he’d given her. He glanced up at her again, seeking permission.

“May I?” he asked, the hint of a bashful boy brimming at the surface.

Iris nodded again, her smile soft. It was nowhere near as wide as his, but he sensed she was just as overjoyed. He saw the movement in her throat and the raw emotion in her face. This moment would forever be immortalized for both of them.

He felt tears start to well in his eyes as he took the roses from her, a small zap crackling visibly through him when their fingers brushed against each other. He knew she felt it too because she jumped a little just as his hand flinched from the impact. The last time he’d felt a zap like that between them was just after Eddie’s almost proposal. He didn’t dwell on that for more than a moment, only on how electricity hummed between the two of them during monumental moments. And this one, for sure, qualified. This one was everything.

Not wanting to wait another second, Barry set the bouquet on the floor amidst all the other rose petals and took her hand in his own. No jolt of electricity this time, but his heart raced and his breathing quickened as he slid the monumental, exquisite family heirloom onto her finger. He’d dreamed of this moment for as long as he could remember. It was beyond surreal that it was actually happening – and finally, after he’d waited so long for her to see him the same way and move beyond seeing where this thing goes’ to ‘I hope every day is with you.’

_What would Barry from three years ago have thought about this moment right here right now?_

Barry almost laughed aloud. His younger self wouldn’t believe him. There was no way. He would need proof.

 _Iris_ ’s laugh took him out of his stupor, and he wondered if she’d read his thoughts. He looked up at her, grinning like a fool again at how in sync they were.

“What?” he asked. The sight of her struggling to contain her laughter made him dizzy with delight.

“I just got engaged to the Flash.”

 _Well_. Not exactly what he’d been thinking, but it kept him smiling all the same. He was on his feet not two seconds later, basking in the joy spilling out of her, looking at her the way the Flash did when he flirted, when he deliberately made it his sole priority to make her melt.

Iris draped her arms around his neck, practically bouncing.

“Every woman in Central City is going to be insanely jealous of me,” she beamed. “Or, they would be if they knew.”

Giddy with delight and wanting his woman closer, Barry wrapped his arms around her back.

“Think you’ll mind not being a West anymore?” he teased.

Iris’s giddy demeanor subsided, but in its place there was only softness and warmth.

“Iris West-Allen,” she whispered on a breath that he swore had been pulled from the heavens. The name made his head spin. The fact that it was being said in response to his proposal was enough to question if this was even real. He knew he wouldn’t care if it wasn’t. Not in this moment. Not right now when they were both so happy and wrapped up in each other.

“Going to hyphenate, huh?” he asked, his teasing voice masking the echo of his past self having just found out this future and having to deal with the fact that Eddie was on the brink of proposing to the woman that 2024 newspaper claimed he would end up with.

_“I have a feeling she’s going to want to hyphenate…”_

But the memory evaporated almost instantly again, and Iris’s face beaming up at him the only thing that mattered now.

“That is one future detail I don’t mind keeping,” she said.

 _Me either_ , he couldn’t help thinking. It was the only detail he’d seen in any future that he’d wanted to make a reality.

Then without warning and without slowing down, Iris West kissed him.

It was a heavy, drugging kiss that made him pull her closer, as close as he could without ripping their clothes off so they could be joined in the most intimate way. Iris’s tongue tangled with his, and her hands threaded through his hair. He felt her breasts lift and fall pressed as they were against his chest and knew he wouldn’t last much longer, not at this rate.

“You’re not going to outdo this one, Barry,” he heard her say. She was panting and trembling, and he would have been concerned if not for the knowledge that her sounds came from pure joy, just the same as his. He wondered how they were both still standing.

He brushed his nose against hers, breathing hard himself but so blissfully happy he didn’t care.

“Wait till you hear my wedding vows,” he said without thinking.

He didn’t take it back though, not even when Iris reared her head back and stared at him with wide eyes and a gaping expression. He wouldn’t tell her now, but he’d first written his vows to her when he was twelve, and he’d carefully edited them since then, keeping each draft separate and planning to give them all to her one day, even as he only spoke the final piece on their wedding day.

He initiated the kiss now, but she was still the most vocal one by far.

“I love you so much,” she whispered between more kisses. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

She would be the death of him if she kept going like this.

_Was this how she felt when he professed his love to her on the daily and made it more obvious than ever that she was his entire world?_

He didn’t think about it too much because she was still kissing him and his hands were coming alongside her face without his permission and her name was escaping her lips in lustful tones. Her leg creeping up the side of his made him hard immediately, making him pull away because they were going so fast and where they were heading was supposed to come _last_ , not first.

“Why are you stopping?” she demanded, actually sounding pained.

If only she knew just how painful it was for him to stop them. He tried to refocus.

“I…uh…” He licked his lips and cleared his throat, trying to remember why he’d put a halt to their very hot encounter. “Don’t you want to eat first?”

He saw her blink and admitted to himself what a dumb idea it had been to pull away from his fiancée who was always raring and ready to go. She had a sex drive that matched his own and under normal circumstances, he took full advantage of it.

But he persisted.

“Your Grandma Esther’s noodles just aren’t as good warmed up. I believe you’ve told me that in the past,” he said.

Iris cleared her throat.

“Barry,” she purred, completely undoing whatever resolve he’d had. She started to sway, and he swayed with her. He couldn’t help it. She was his kryptonite.

His eyes were pinned to hers, so he couldn’t see it, but he sensed her hands slipping beneath the collar of the jacket that he’d gone out and bought specifically for this occasion. When her hands covered the back of his neck, he had to close his eyes briefly just to retain some semblance of self-control.

 _It’s too soon_ , the part of him that had so carefully planned for this evening said.

 _No, it’s not!_ the other part said, though it very clearly had wavered from his voice to Iris’s. _Give in. She wants you._

They shivered together, and he knew it was over.

He pulled her closer than before and whispered, “ _Iris_ ,” against her lips as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders, so it fell into a heap on the floor.

“All I want right now,” she said against his mouth, pressing a finger to his parted lips, cutting off a small portion of his air supply, “is _you_.”

 _The hell with it_ , he thought, throwing all his carefully laid plans to the wind. His hands settled on her ass and wrapped her legs around him. Then he carefully walked across the petals to the couch facing the fireplace and laid her gently down on the piece of furniture that had gotten plenty of attention from them for as long as it had been there.

He drew back for a moment to undress himself and then returned to her. He peppered her body with kisses and slowly stripped her of the last barriers between them. Then he made love to her in the midst of all the single flames and roaring fire, knowing that no matter what he would never forget this night for as long as he lived.

 


	3. She Said Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris needs time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one incorporates no suggestions from anyone. It's all me. And it was hell to write because it hurt my heart so much. I guarantee this is the only fully angst-filled chapter though, so if you can make it through this one, fluff awaits you on the other side!! lol

The last thing Iris had expected upon coming home, even when she saw the rose petals and a million candles and smelled the wonder that was Grandma Esther’s noodles – and mint chocolate chip ice cream in the fridge! – had been a proposal.

A _proposal_. From _Barry Allen_.

Lord, she loved him. She loved him more than anything. More than her own life, she loved him.

And he’d gone all out. He always went all out. He loved her as much as she loved him and his grand gestures never got old. Sometimes she even felt like she wasn’t giving enough in the relationship because she swore she couldn’t possibly make him as happy as he made her. After all, what had she done besides tell him how much she loved him on repeat for months? She gave him pep talks when the Flash needed them, but that hardly qualified as contributing to their romantic relationship.

But any uncertainty she held on that side of things faded away when he looked at her the way he was looking at her now. And in bed. Because hell if she couldn’t give him just as much pleasure as he gave her. She might not be able to vibrate, but she had a body he couldn’t resist and a voice that made him come undone and a tongue that did plenty fine when it wrapped around him or dove into his mouth.

All things considered, she felt she was doing enough to satisfy him. After tonight, how could she not be? He was down on one knee _proposing to her_.

And therein lay the problem.

She’d just assured herself that she was pulling her weight, even though she’d yet to really make a grand gesture the way Barry did. So that wasn’t it. It was the timing.

It wasn’t too soon for a proposal necessarily. Sometimes couples knew each other only a few months before they got married, and some of those couples stayed together for the rest of their _lives_.

Besides, they’d been dating for almost a year. She wasn’t blind to the fact that Barry had probably foreseen this from the moment she’d confessed her feelings for him before he’d stepped into that second particle accelerator experiment and proceeded to shatter her world, no matter how briefly.

But…Savitar.

The evil god of speed was supposed to return somehow and kill her just over three months from now. Would Barry really be down on one knee asking her to spend the rest of her life with him, if her life might be over before they could even set a date for the wedding.

“Iris?” came Barry’s voice, low and uncertain, worried.

She focused on him and got to her knees so they were level on the floor. She set the roses beside her and cradled her face in his hands.

“Barry,” her voice broke, tears brimming in her eyes.

Not happy tears. Tears that said _I’m sorry_. Tears that said _I wish things were different_. Tears that didn’t want to say these things out loud. Tears that bore an uncanny appearance to the ones she’d shed the night he first told her he loved her all those years ago.

Barry looked away from her. He didn’t pull back, didn’t wrench her hands from his face. But he did put the ring back. With shaky fingers, he put it back into the metal container, and it hit the wooden floor with an unintended clang and fell amongst the rose petals. He tried to pick it up again, but he couldn’t seem to grasp it in his fingers. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His emotions went into overdrive. He wanted to leave and cry somewhere, yell and scream about how could he have been so blind? How could he have not even thought that Iris might say no to him?

Iris’s hand closed over his. She picked the box up for him, placed it in his trembling hand and wrapped his fingers around it. She guided his hand to his pocket and helped him slip it inside. Then silence descended, thick and heavy, and they both sat there, neither daring to move.

Finally, Iris spoke.

“I’m not saying no, Barry,” she said softly, though she couldn’t meet his eyes at first. “I’m just saying not now. I’m saying wait.”

He couldn’t meet her eyes initially either, but when he did it was with heartbreak he couldn’t hide if he wanted to.

“Wait until when?” his voice broke. A tear streamed down Iris’s cheek.

“Barry, you know I love you,” she said and swallowed hard. “You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Do I?” his voice rasped.

“Yes. God, yes.” Her hands clutched tightly around his face. “I just want to make sure the rest of my life doesn’t end three months from now.”

Barry shut his eyes. This time he was tempted to wrench his face away.

“You don’t trust me.” His eyes flickered back to her face. “After everything you’ve said and everything I’ve done, you still don’t think you’re going to live.”

Her hands dropped by her own accord.

“I just don’t want you to be proposing because you think my life has a quickly approaching expiration date,” she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

“Iris—”

“ _Barry_.” She sighed, aggravated, not wanting to explain but knowing she had to. “I just—” She swallowed hard, then her face whipped up so that her gaze met his head on. “Would you be proposing to me tonight if Savitar wasn’t supposed to come and kill me in just a few months?” Her eyes blazed.

“I’m proposing because I love you,” he said very seriously. “Because I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, and I want to marry you because you’re everything to me, the only woman I’ve ever loved and ever will love for the rest of my life.”

“But why tonight, Barry? Why did you have to do it _tonight_?”

Barry scoffed. He couldn’t help it. He’d put so much into this. He’d gone all out. He’d been so sure this was the way to go, to not let Savitar dictate their future by always fighting against it, but instead living it to the fullest.

And here she was irritated that he’d done it at all. He couldn’t believe it. He was horribly offended, but he was also mad at himself. And he was insecure now too. He worried that she would’ve turned him down no matter the circumstances.

Iris tensed across from him. She’d known this conversation would be hard, and she’d known it would break him, but she hadn’t expected this distance from him. Or maybe she just hadn’t wanted to.

“You’re right, Iris,” he finally said, trying as much as was humanly possible to not insert bitterness into his voice. He lifted his eyes to her and knew some of it shone through in the way he looked at her. “I decided to propose tonight because I didn’t want to stop living just because there’s a threat hanging over your head.”

Iris crumpled in on herself.

“I didn’t want to let Savitar win even before he tries to by determining that I spend more time trying to stop the future than trying to make one with you.”

“You’re still making a future with me, Barry. I still live with you. I’m not moving out.”

Barry looked away and shook his head.

“How long?” he asked.

It was, she realized, the same question she’d asked when he’d told her about the future that very first time in the time vault.

She swallowed hard.

“How long until what?” she asked cautiously, barely able to get the words out. “How long until—”

But Barry got to his feet and walked away from her before she could get the rest of her second question out, before she could try to reason with him.

For Barry’s part, he realized that he didn’t know. How long until she left him? How long until she wanted to marry him? How long until she decided that everything he’d done and said to her since finding out about Savitar’s plan to kill Iris had been a lie?

His mind was screaming at him that maybe she didn’t believe a word he said and had done everything with her out of fear that she might die. It was ludicrous and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop the thoughts from swarming in his head and driving him mad.

Iris heard the sniffle he didn’t mean to let out escape him and went to him immediately. She turned him around and saw the tears streaming down his face.

“Oh, _Barry_.”

She reached for him, but he didn’t want to be comforted. Not by her. Not in that moment. He just wanted her to say yes. Or he wanted… He didn’t know what else. He didn’t know what could possibly make this better.

“Do you believe anything I’ve said to you?” he forced out. “Do you…Do you even believe I love you?”

Her jaw dropped, shocked beyond all measure.

“Of course,” she said as soon as she could find her voice. “Of course I do, Barry. I know how much you love me. You show me and tell me every single day.”

Barry closed his eyes and nodded. Iris thought she saw some of the tension leave his shoulders, but it was so slightly that she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it.

“And you love me,” he said, but his voice wavered. She hated how it wavered.

“I love you,” she said, determined to make him believe it. “And I want to marry you, Barry. I do.”

The words should’ve comforted him, and he knew if she’d said yes they would’ve brought him nothing but joy, but she hadn’t said yes. She’d said… What _had_ she said?

“You just don’t want to make that promise today,” he said softly, his voice more strained than cold, more heartbroken that angry.

Her expression changed, looked uncertain, even a little surprised, as if he’d said it in a way she never considered.

He sighed loudly and ran a hand over his face.

“I just… Maybe, maybe you’re right. Maybe if Savitar wasn’t a threat to you I wouldn’t have proposed to you tonight.” He fixed his eyes on hers. “But there just as much a chance that I would have. Time moves so fast and sometimes I move with it. Sometimes I move faster than time, and sometimes I need to slow down. But Iris, when I’m with you…everything feels the way it’s supposed to. I don’t want to hide that from anybody that you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Everyone pretty much knows it, but knowing you want it too, seeing that you want other people to know it…” He paused and tried to breathe. “But you don’t want that right now.”

Iris shut her eyes tightly and turned away. She wanted to scream. She hated that he couldn’t just accept what she wanted and hated even more that she understood where he was coming from and that she was as broken as he was that she hadn’t just said yes.

“Can’t you compromise, Barry?” she said bitterly. “Can’t you bend a _little_?”

The words stung even to her, but Barry didn’t respond aversely.

“Can you?” he asked softly, his boiling emotions starting to subdue.

Iris took a breath. “What do you propose?” She cringed at her poor word choice.

Barry swallowed. “Wear my ring—”

“Barry—”

“Around your neck,” he continued, then turned to face her and she hesitantly did the same. “Wear it on a chain around your neck. That way you can hide it if you want. You can tuck it beneath your shirt and no one has to see. But I’ll know it’s there. I’ll know that the only thing holding you back is your future, not how you feel about me or what you want.”

Iris swallowed and nodded, fixed her eyes on the pocket where his ring lay tucked safely away in the little metal box.

“Okay,” she said softly. She closed the distance between them and took his hands in her own, laid her head against the familiar skin. “I can do that.”

…

 

The next morning when Iris woke up, she had trouble at first remembering all that had happened. Gorilla attacks. A proposal. And oh yeah, she hadn’t said yes.

She cringed at the memory and wasn’t wholly satisfied when she remembered their compromise, was even more crushed when Barry had put his foot down and said they’d put the ring on a chain in the morning, that there was no need to wear it to bed.

There was tension between them the rest of the night. Neither had an appetite. Neither wanted to do anything. But they both knew it was dangerous to separate, so they sat on the couch together and she fell asleep. Next thing she knew she was waking up in their bed. She had no doubt he’d carried her there.

She spotted his jacket across the room and couldn’t take her eyes off of it, especially that pocket she knew the ring was hidden in.

Barry was turned away from her in bed. She didn’t know if that was deliberate or not, but she decided this time that it was to her advantage.

She pulled back the covers and crept across the room, digging through the pocket in his jacket as soon as she reached it. She found the ring box immediately by touch and pulled it out, uncapping it and staring at the glittering jewel inside.

It really was beautiful, and it had such a wonderful story behind it. Never before had she been so touched by something someone had said or given to her. She wished she’d said yes now. She wished she hadn’t ruined it.

 _Just to see if it fits_ , she told herself as she slipped the ring onto her finger and stared at it, enraptured.

It fit perfectly, as she had suspected it would. And for reasons that had nothing to do with her wanting to wear pretty things, Iris very stubbornly did not want to take it off.

She wanted to wear that ring. She didn’t want to put it on a chain and hide it away. She wanted people to know how deeply she loved Barry and how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. God help her, even if that was just a few months. Why should she let Savitar have so much power over her that she couldn’t even plan a wedding?

And Barry meant everything he said. He loved her. He wanted to marry her. She knew that with every fiber of her being. She also knew she’d have said yes to moving in with him if that had been the proposition instead. So why not this? Why _not_?

The clarity she wished she’d had last night dawned on her, and Iris saw how a proposal now didn’t necessarily mean _because_ of the timing, but rather in _spite_ of it.

“Barry?” she called out, not turning back to him. She heard a quiet groan but that was it, so she went back to the bed and sat next to his sleeping body. “Barry,” she said more softly, but it had just as much success as the first time. So she switched tactics and laid the ring still adorning her finger upon his cheek.

Barry’s eyes flashed open. They slanted towards the source of the cold so he could see what he suspected was true. Then he looked at her, eyes questioning and confused.

“Are you—You’re wearing it?”

Iris smiled gently, wishing she could do the whole night over.

“Is it too late to say yes?” she asked, causing Barry to slowly sit up.

He studied her, searched her face for some falsehood, some explanation for what had changed her mind.

She didn’t know if he found it but very suddenly he kissed her. It was quick and passionate and when he pulled away, he pressed his forehead to hers and made every attempt to breathe.

“No,” he swallowed hard. She heard it. “It’s not too late.”

“Then I say yes,” she said and kissed him. “I say yes right now and forever. No matter what happens in the future, I want people to know I want to marry you.” Her eyes flickered up to his. “I want them to know _today_.”

“You’re sure?” he pressed. He couldn’t bear for her to change her mind again.

She nodded against him. “I’m sure.”

Barry didn’t question her further. He knew he’d find time later, maybe that day, maybe not. But right now her changed mind was enough. Her changed mind was everything.

She said yes.

 


	4. She Said I'm Hungry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris really wants Grandma Esther's noodles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted as a little drabble on tumblr, this one has no outside inspiration either. The last ones will though. :)

Barry’s face was alight with certainty and joy, waiting for her answer. Iris replayed the words he’d said to her over and over in her head. She wanted more than anything to say yes. To let him put that ring on her finger. To hug and kiss the love of her life and plan for the future, Savitar be damned. But instead she parted her lips and let the dreaded response out.

“No.”

She watched woefully as Barry’s lips twitched and eyebrows furrowed, wondering if he’d heard her wrong. When she made no move to speak or to act, he swallowed hard and dropped his gaze to the ring, now daring to slip out from between his fingers. With shaky hands, he placed the ring back inside its circular holder and placed the lid on top, firmly tightening it.

He sat back on his legs and licked his lips, his mind fuzzy with what had just happened, the little hairs on the back of his neck starting to stand. The rejection was crushing. The lack of an explanation was even more so.

Slowly, awkwardly, he got to his feet. He tucked his fingers inside his collar and undid the top button, stretching out the fabric, giving him room to breathe. He glanced around the room at all the candles and rose petals, inhaled the smell of Grandma Esther’s noodles that he’d taken the time and effort to cook carefully to perfection.

He knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer, so he hesitantly looked back on Iris, not sure what he hoped to find there and even less sure of what he found.

“Are you going to leave?” She asked, curious without condemnation.

He swallowed again. “Do you want me to?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and shook her head, then pulled his face down to hers, nudging her nose up so it brushed against his.

“What do you want, Iris?” He asked, a hitch to his voice, almost breathless, and crushing.

“I want Grandma Esther’s noodles,” she said contemplatively, starting to sway and forcing his tense body to sway with her. “I want some mint chocolate chip ice cream,” she continued, as casually as if she were just making a grocery list aloud. “And then, I want you to ask me to marry you.” He stilled, and she stilled with him. “Again.”

His gulp this time was clearly visible in his throat.

“Again?” He managed.

She nodded. “Mhmm.”

“I don’t know if I can take rejection a second time, Iris,” he said, tears filling his eyes.

She felt them start to drip onto her cheeks and knew she couldn’t keep up the charade.

“Yes,” she said on a soothing sigh.

He blinked. “What?”

“Yes, Barry Allen.” She tugged him down by his chin and planted a kiss on his lips. “I’ll marry you,” she whispered.

He gave a choked cry and gathered her into his arms.

“Oh my god, you scared the hell out of me, Iris,” he gasped for air, as if he couldn’t breathe.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck.

“’M, sorry, Barry,” she mumbled into his skin.

He pulled back to look at her, cradling her face in his hands.

“Why would you do that?” He asked, desperation clear in his searching eyes.

She sighed softly and scolded herself for her silly reasoning.

“Because I want to jump your bones, babe.”

His eyebrows furrowed.

“If I said no, at least I’d get to eat first.”

He gave a strangled laugh and shook his head, eyes glittering as he uncapped the metal ring box still clutched in his hand and took the ring out again.

Without asking he took her hand, and she let him. He slid the ring onto her finger, and then looked up at her, a bundle of nerves again.

“Yeah?” He asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He captured her lips in a passionate kiss that had her yearning for him everywhere, yearning for his lips, hands, and tongue to explore every inch of her body.

She groaned aloud.

“I wanted to _eat_ first,” she complained.

With a tremendous effort, Barry managed to detach from her, but he could not subdue the heat in his eyes.

 “We can eat first.” He licked his lips, as his eyes lowered to hers. Then they flickered up to her eyes. “If you want.”

A mix of desire and frustration, she whined into her own initiated smoldering kiss.

“It’s too late for that,” she said between kisses. “I want you _now_.”


	5. She Laughed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris has a mean streak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's much shorter, as will be the final one.
> 
> Incorporated in this chapter are the following requested detail(s):
> 
> sendtherain - Girl wanted to see Iris laugh at Barry when he proposed to her (as a throwback to Iris's 3.04 reaction to Barry getting sweet on her when he was stuck in the mirror).

To say she was moved was an understatement. Iris was completely, undoubtedly swept off her feet. She didn’t know how he did it, but Barry Allen surprised her at every turn. She wished she’d dated him ages ago, wished she’d realized her feelings for him first and made the move he could not.

She also wondered too how he could possibly think she would say anything but yes.

So, looking down into his hopeful eyes, she decided she would spend her last moments as a girlfriend in the most horrible way. She would say no.

“What?” Barry asked, not really processing. It was obvious.

“No,” she said again, giving no explanation.

Barry cleared his throat, still trying to wrap his head around the response he’d gotten and the lack of reason for it. He sat back on his heels and studied her.

“Is it because of Savitar?”

Iris tilted her head to the side and twisted her lips in consideration.

“Or because it’s so soon after the Grodd attack?” he offered up, though he doubted that was it.

Iris pursed her lips, not looking at him and then tapped her lip with her finger.

A very strong possibility started to hit him hard over the head. His eyes narrowed.

“Are you…?”

Iris glanced down at him, tried to look terribly serious for a moment longer and then burst out laughing. Barry’s eyes widened, but he still was left unsure about what exactly it meant.

“Does this mean…?”

“Yes!” she declared and then got down on her news in front of him. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him soundly on his lips. “Yes, you unbelievable dork, I will marry you.” She kissed him ahead. “I’m going to marry you.” And again. “And nothing on this earth or any earth or any timeline will stop me.”

A long, aching, passionate kiss.

When Iris pulled away, Barry was grinning from ear to ear. Iris rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the smile plain on her face. She switched the bouquet from her left to her right hand and held her left out to him.

“Just put a ring on it, Flash. We don’t have all night and I want some noodles.”

Barry’s smile somehow widened and he did as he was told.

“I love you,” he said, shaking his head even as he said it.

Iris softened again and pulled his face to hers once more.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, moaning into him and then pulling away. “Sex later,” she declared. “Food now.”

She got to her feet and darted to the kitchen. Nothing could take the smile off Barry’s face. He stood and went after her before presenting her with her meal. Her eyes widened with delight. He decided he was just dandy with her focusing on her food for now. He’d get her to lose herself in him when they were tucked away in their darkened bedroom.

“Aren’t you the least bit fazed?” he asked when her fork was halfway to her mouth.

“I’m sorry. What?” She tilted her head to the side.

He reached his hand across the table and brushed his thumb across her ring finger now adorned with the precious jewel he’d given her. He heard her quiet gasp and knew he had her.

Their eyes met across the table, both watering, both lips spread into a smile.

“I love you,” she said.

He fought to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I love you, too,” he said.

“I get to marry you.” The giggle erupted, but she was crying too, so unbelievably happy.

She got up from her seat and rounded the table to him. She pulled him up and wrapped her hand around his neck, dragging his lips down to hers.

She bit her bottom lip, smiling ashamedly, tense and jumpy with excitement.

“I get to _marry_ you.”

Barry smiled into their kisses and felt a joy he never knew was possible. He held her tighter so he didn’t run off and do something reckless just to alert people to his happiness. Only with Iris could he feel this way. Only her ever.

 


	6. She Said Always

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How could I not?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incorporated in this chapter are the following requested detail(s):
> 
> Anon: What if instead of saying yes, Iris says "Always" to Barry's proposal? It would tie into her cute "fake" proposal from 3x14. (I know several of you wanted this as well. I have seen it all over twitter & tumblr! lol)
> 
> Irissswests - the whole plot for this chapter essentially.
> 
> sendtherain - the line "how could I not?", so the summary makes sense.

Barry watched her, waiting. From her shocked expression to her quiet gasp to her soft smiles to the cracked sound her voice made when she said his name, he had felt fairly good about what her response might be. And yet, several moments later, Iris still stared down at him, having not said a word.

It was time to take action.

“I…uh…” he cleared his throat. “I just feel like right now is the right time.”

“Yes,” Iris whispered, eyes sparkling with the joy she was feeling.

But Barry didn’t hear her.

“I mean,” he continued. “I’ve loved you since I was eleven. Really, since…before I knew what the word love meant. That love…it’s only grown more over the years, and since we started dating, it’s just gotten more _intense_ , and I just really feel like we’re at the place where we can take this step, you know?”

“Barry,” she tried to interject, but he still didn’t register it.

“I know maybe you think the timing is off because of Savitar—”

“Barry!”

He stopped, looked up at her, and blushed rapidly.

“What?” He cleared his throat again.

“Shut up,” she said with a brilliant smile on her face. “I’m trying to answer your proposal.”

His jaw dropped, so she got to her knees in front of him, dropped her flowers and cupped his face in her hands.

“Always, Barry Allen,” she said, her eyes pouring into his with all the love she held deep inside her. “I will always, always want to marry you.” Barry grinned unashamedly. “I say yes. Yes, a hundred times, yes, I will marry you.”

She nuzzled against him and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“I love you,” he murmured, and she silenced him with a more passionate kiss.

“Put the damn ring on my finger, Flash.” She pulled away, the stars still sparkling in her eyes. “I want to know what being the future Mrs. West-Allen feels like.”

All delicious shivers and happiness threatening to explode, Barry took his Iris’s hand and slid the ring onto her finger.

“Mrs. West-Allen,” he whispered, and he couldn’t stop grinning.

He looked up at her and found her still smiling gaze.

“ _Your_ Mrs. West-Allen.” She brushed her nose against his. “Always.”

“Always?” he whispered, and she couldn’t tell if he was in awe or unsure of her.

She pulled back to look at him.

“Barry Allen.” She shook her head, smiling.

He said nothing, and she knew then it was awe, not uncertainty that shone on his face. She ran her thumb along his chin and bit her bottom lip.

“How could I not?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been fun! Thank you, everyone, for chipping in! I hope you enjoyed my Iris responses!! <3


End file.
